Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-07-01
deeming nothing that is human foreign to

of,so great Importance rs in the domain OF
religion. A right conception of God is large
! ly dependent on a right estimate Of man
, The tendency of mankind to liken God
to themselves has long been understood
! Thoughtful men have inveighed against
what they have called anthropomor
phsm and have striven to remove what
they thought to be its evil consequences
1t is now coming to be appreciated that
this process is necessary accompaniment
of our human limitations, more than this,
it Is method of theologiZing which has
the highest of all sanction. The Bible
throughout strives to make God known
through the various human qualities and
relations to give us a conception of the
perfect attributes of God through their i'm.
perfect counterparts in us. Now does 1t not
follow, not by any perversity of man, but
by the inevitable laws of his nature, that
our conceptions of things divine are con
ditioned by our estimate of things human
low when they are low, perverted, when
they are wrong, purified, elevated emo
bled when Interpretations are most as they
should be If Christ is declared to he
mems lord and master, it makes some diff
ference in the conception of Him as such
whether men live under Il French seig
neur or an English duke or an American
slave.Owner. 1t is with good reason
claimed that the influence of the milder
and more merciful legislation of modern
Christian States is changing mems con
| long AS men were accustomed to tolerate
the crueltes of the older regimes the en-
slavement and degradation of masses of
men, the sacrifice of thousands in
order to crafty the caprice of a ruler,
it did not shock them to conceive of God
as dealing with. men in the same caprici-
Gus, heartless and cruel way, booming
men by whole tribes and nations to inevi-
table perdltion. But as under the human
izing and refining influences of the gos-
pei men have grown sensitive to pain in
others, disturbed and distressed by the
sight of misery and danger, so God in
mems estimate is coming to be more con
siderate of the lives he has created, more
! wde-reachinC in His mercy, not willing
that any of His children should perish.
whether they are in New England or
Africa, but that all should come to re
pentance. We cannot understand heaven
ly things save rs God reveals them to us
through earthly things. To know God,
therefore, we must know man in his high
est and best estate, and from this
stepping stone rise to such Il con
ception of God as our present capacity adj
mits. Or rather, for this kind of kuowl-
edge is not derivative or communicable,
we must have in ourselves that true and
pure and high manhood out OF which
comes the highest conception OF God. He
is in the best condition to know ,iod who
has best realized III himself God'S estimate
he will conceive of God and worship Him
and endeavor to understand and do His
will, under the human conditions through
which God reveals Himself to the chill
dren of men.
And this brings us to the result to which
every enquiry after truth will always
bring every Christian thinker-to Jesus
Christ himself Son of Man, Son of God
without whom every problem of human
life is tangled knot, in. whom all the
tn S Of human destiny IL mus, must
texture Man had lost the true esti-
mate of himself, had forgotten his SON
ship to God, had detaced Gods image in
his soul, had sunk into sensualty, al
most into brutality. He had thought
that God was altogether such an one as
himself in his degradation and defiement
Now it was one part do not say it was
the whole-of Chrlst's mission upon earth
to restore to man the true conception of
himself, of his present apostasy and ruin,
but of his essential dignity, his potential
worth, his infinite possibilities of night
eousness and blessedness. "Ecce Homo !"
said Plate "Behold the man ~ God says
to US, and see in him what capa
bilities are lodged, what paths of
true living are open to him, what
heights of spiritual excellence he is invi
ted TO attain. The finest thing ever said /
of Washington, almost the finest
~ - 80 ~ -, 40 ~ az
chah3eu the Worlu est'iIiate OF great
ness. IL may DE saiu Oh Jesus that ne
chauHeu nlet Innate ol man lhal ne
s si io e the iuea ol actual man as
!punu III tne llrsu cnap1er ol uhe humans
t IN WHICH Is presented WIN some degree
Vi poetic Doiuness III inns psalm; put III
all the serenity of conviction and antici |
patton pa III those Iauilhe WORDS; III we
an come III tle uhity Oh the laitn, ana OF
the kno"leuge OF the ooh Oh uod, unto
perfect man, unto the measure Oh the
stature Oh lhe lulihess Oh Christ'
President Buckham then addressed the
following beautiful and inspiring words |
to the graduating class.
ADDRESS TO THE GRADUATING CLASS.
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